Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A comparative study of the complexation of uranium(VI) withoxydiacetic acid and its amide derivatives

Conference ·
OSTI ID:862326

There has been significant interest in recent years in the studies of alkyl-substituted amides as extractants for actinide separation because the products of radiolytic and hydrolytic degradation of amides are less detrimental to separation processes than those of organophosphorus compounds traditionally used in actinide separations. Stripping of actinides from the amide-containing organic solvents is relatively easy. In addition, the amide ligands are completely incinerable so that the amount of secondary wastes generated in nuclear waste treatment could be significantly reduced. One group of alkyl-substituted oxa-diamides have been shown to be promising in the separation of actinides from nuclear wastes. For example, tetraoctyl-3-oxa-glutaramide and tetraisobutyl-oxa-glutaramide form actinide complexes that can be effectively extracted from nitric acid solutions. To understand the thermodynamic principles governing the complexation of actinides with oxa-diamides, we have studied the complexation of U(VI) with dimethyl-3-oxa-glutaramic acid (DMOGA) and tetramethyl-3-oxa-glutaramide (TMOGA) in aqueous solutions, in comparison with oxydiacetic acid (ODA) (Figure 1). Previous studies have indicated that the complexation of U(VI) with ODA is strong and entropy-driven. Comparing the results for DMOGA and TMOGA with those for ODA could provide insight into the energetics of amide complexation with U(VI) and the relationship between the thermodynamic properties and the ligand structure.

Research Organization:
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of Basic EnergySciences
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
862326
Report Number(s):
LBNL--57914; BnR: KC0302030
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English